Ōtomo No Yakamochi

was a Japanese statesman and '' waka'' poet in the Nara period. He was one of the ''Man'yō no Go-taika,'' the five great poets of his time, and was part of Fujiwara no Kintō's .

Ōtomo was a member of the prestigious Ōtomo clan. Like his grandfather and father before him, Yakamochi was a well-known politician, and by Enryaku rose to the position of , his highest bureaucratic position.''.''

Biography

Ōtomo was born into the Ōtomo clan; his grandfather was Ōtomo no Yasumaro and his father was Ōtomo no Tabito. The Ōtomo clan were warriors and bureaucrats in the Yamato Court, and Yakamochi served as a in several provinces. He was the nephew of Ōtomo no Sakanoue no Iratsume, who was also poet and a favorite of Prince Hozumi. When Tabito died in 631, Ōtomo became the head of the Ōtomo family.

In 738, he met Udoneri, and in 740 at the behest of Emperor Shōmu went to Dazaifu (Kyūshū) to suppress the rebellion of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu. In 745 he became a . In July of the following year, he became governor of Etchū Province, a post he lasted in until 751. By this time he was already the author of 220 ''waka''. In 751 he was promoted to and returned to the capital.

In 754 he was appointed , and the following year concerned himself with the at Nanba, a time that is described in the ''Sakimori Songs Collection'' in the ''Man'yōshū''. Yakamochi did not take part in the . Instead, he conspired with Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu, Isonokami Yakatsugu and Saeki no Imaemishi to plot the assassination of Fujiwara no Nakamaro. Afterwards Yoshitsugu took sole responsibility for the affair, but due to suspicions about Yakamochi's involvement he was transferred to the governorship of Satsuma Province.

In 777, he rose to the governorship of Ise Province. According to the records of the , he served in this post for about five years. In 780 he was promoted to . Fearing suspicion and banishment from the capital for aiding in Hikami no Kawatsugu's , he remained quiet and was promoted to in 783.

He died in 785 by drowning in Mutsu Province while attending to his concurrent post as ''shōgun''. Soon after his death, Fujiwara no Tanetsugu was assassinated; suspecting that Yakamochi was involved in the affair, his burial was denied and he was posthumously disgraced and excommunicated. His son was stripped of rank and forced into exile, and it was only in 806 that he regained his rank.

Poetic works

A theory holds that Yakamochi was the compiler (or the final compiler) of the ''Man'yōshū'', the first poetry anthology created in Japanese history, for which he not only wrote several poems but also transcribed, rewrote, and refashioned an unknown number of ancient poems and folklore. About 481 of the poems included in the anthology were his works. He was the most prolific and prominent writer of his time, and had a great influence on the '' Shika Wakashū'' as well. The famous Gunka song ''Umi Yukaba'' used one of his most famous and outstanding poem as lyrics, and was considered Japan's second anthem during wartime. It was the anthem of the Japanese navy, serving as the send-off song for sailors at the beginning of the war in 1937. It also formed part of the Japanese military appropriation of high culture for the historical justification of its existence.

He wrote a eulogy ('' banka'') for Prince Asaka (安積皇子 ''Asaka-no-miko'').

See also

* 8th century in poetry
* Japanese poetry

References

*This article is based on material from the equivalent article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Otomo no, Yakamochi
718 births
785 deaths
Date of birth unknown
8th-century Japanese poets
8th-century shōguns
Japanese male poets
Shōguns
Deaths by drowning
Man'yō poets
Hyakunin Isshu poets
Deified Japanese people